Traditional Musical Instruments of Nepal: Madal, Sarangi, Panche Baja and Where to Hear Them

• Instruments documented360+ (Ram Prasad Kadel's books)
• Most played drumMadal
• Wedding bandPanche baja, played by the Damai
• Sarangi traditionGandharva (Gaine) singers
• Newar festival drumDhimay
• Best time to hear themIndra Jatra (Sep), Dashain and Tihar (Oct to Nov)

Nepal, despite being a small landlocked country, is one of the richest places in the entire globe in terms of religion, ethnic groups, and languages. There are 142 caste and ethnic groups and 124 languages, according to the 2021 census. This variety in religion, castes, and language brings out the different traditional musical instruments. Nobody has a final count. The folk music collector Ram Prasad Kadel has documented more than 360 Nepali instruments in his books, and many villages still play ones that have never been written down.

 

Different communities play different instruments that have their own historical backgrounds and significance. These traditional musical instruments reflect the unity in diversity as music binds people together and decreases their differences. Marriage ceremonies, traditional practices, Jatras, festivals, etc., are incomplete without traditional folk melodies.

 

Some of the famous traditional musical instruments of Nepal that are played to this date widely and enjoyed that bring people together are:

 

1. Sarangi

Sarangi is carved from a single block of khirro wood, has a hollow bottom, and has four strings tightly attached to it. This traditional musical instrument has a separate bow, strung with horsehair, that is drawn across those strings to produce a beautiful musical sound. The sarangi belongs to the Gandharva, also called Gaine, a community of wandering musicians who once carried news, war stories and love songs from village to village. Today anyone can play it, but Gandharva families still play for a living, and Batulechaur on the edge of Pokhara is known for its Gandharva musicians. The melody that comes from the sarangi makes you feel like you are in musical heaven. It could be compared to the violin for an easy understanding of how it produces its rhythm.

Photo: Sarangi

 

2. Madal

Madal has a cylindrical figure. Madal’s body is made from wood, and its head is made from Goat’s skin. The black circles on each head are a tuning paste called syahi, traditionally flour mixed with iron filings, though recipes vary. The paste adds weight and gives the drum its ring. It is hollow from the inside, and one head is larger than the other: the big side gives the deep bass and the small side the sharp, high taps. Madal has thread/rope attached from either side’s end that can be put around your neck or waist. This lets you use your hands-free to play it.  Madal could be taken as a drum that is played by striking your hands against the circular black surface present on either side.

 

Photo: Madal

 

The madal is believed to have started with the Magar community. Newars in the Kathmandu Valley still call it maga khin, the Magar drum. Nowadays, everyone seems to indulge in playing it. People like to play Madal mostly during deusi and bhailo (a celebration where people go around houses in their community singing and dancing different folk songs and cultural dances during festivals called Tihar).

 

Nepalese people love to sing and dance their hearts out to the typical tune of Madal. Many Nepalis call it the national instrument, though it has no official title.

           

 

3. Bansuri

Bansuri or Basuri is also known as Murali. This traditional musical instrument holds a special place in the hearts of the Hindu people because it was believed to be played by Krishna (the Hindu god). Bansuri is made from a bamboo shaft. It looks like a long slender tube. Bansuri has 6 to 8 holes on its body, depending on its size. These holes are responsible for producing different-pitched melodies.

 

 

To play bansuri, you hold it horizontally, place your fingers on the holes and move it along as required ( like you adjust your fingers while playing guitar to produce different vibrations) as you blow it with your mouth at the same time. If you have not heard of Bansuri, then you are missing out massively. It is 100 % sure to take all your stress away. 

 

4. Tungna

Tungna, also written tungana, looks like the sarangi to some extent. Tungna is also made up of wood and has four strings attached from head to bottom like sarangi. But unlike Sarangi, the Tungana has a hollow cavity coated with goat skin. Another difference between these two is the way they are played. As mentioned earlier, the sarangi has a special stick that is rubbed against it’s string to produce sound whereas the tungna is plucked. You pick its strings with a small plectrum or your fingers (somewhat similar to playing a guitar).

 

 

The Tamang community plays this traditional instrument at festivals and cultural activities, and so do the Hyolmo and other Himalayan groups, whose tungna often has a carved animal head on the peg box. Like every other musical instrument, the tungana has also made a place in the hearts of other community’s people. If you want a Western musical instrument’s reference to understand the tungana better, think of it as a small lute or guitar.

 

5. Dholak

Dholak is basically a bigger version of Madal. It is made from wood and is hollow from the inside. It has two ends, one of them is bigger in size than the other. Both ends are covered with animal hide, usually a thinner skin on the smaller end and a thicker one on the larger end. You use your hands to play it, and some players use a stick on one side. The larger side gives the low, booming beat and the smaller side the higher, crisper notes.

This traditional musical instrument is mainly played in the Terai to welcome newborns or celebrate the harvest. Many people play it for the celebrations of the “festival of colours”, Holi.

 

 

6. Panche Baja

Panche Baja is a group of five musical instruments: Jhyamta (Jhurma ), Nagara (Damaha), Sahanai, Tyamko, and Narshingha. Line-ups vary from region to region. Many bands add a dholaki drum or a karnal horn, and a full band often has two sahanai and two damaha, so you may count nine players. Panche baja is played by the Damai, a community of tailors and musicians who have kept the tradition for generations. Panche Baja is played to begin auspicious occasions like marriage. Majorly panche baja is played in janti (at the wedding groom and his family go to the bride’s house dancing and singing the entire way). Starting any occasion by playing panche Baja is said to bring good luck.

 

• Jhyamta (Jhurma )

This traditional musical instrument consists of a pair of circular disc-like objects. These circular discs of  Jhyamta are made up of either brass or bronze. To play Jhyamta, its two discs are struck against one another.

In a panche baja the Damai play them. Larger cymbals of the same kind turn up in Newar music during celebrations, festivals, and jatras (a type of street festival especially celebrated by the Newa community), and Kirat dancers keep time with them at Sakela.

 

•   Nagara (Damaha)

Nagara or Damaha could be taken as a bass drum. It is a large kettle drum: a bowl of copper with a cowhide head stretched across the top. The player usually beats it with a single heavy stick. Playing Nagara or Damaha, people celebrate the festival and dance along to its beat.

 

•  Sahanai

Sahanai or Shenahi has a pipe-like structure. One end of it is quite narrow, while the other one is broader as it has a larger circumference. This Traditional musical instrument is made from wood or metal. Its body has 6 to 9 holes. To play the sahanai you blow into the narrower end of it, and the sound is produced from the broader flared end. It is played during auspicious occasions and is believed to take bad spirits away.

 

•  Tyamko

Tyamko is a smaller version of Damaha. It is a kettle drum made from wood, clay, copper, and iron. Just like Damaha Tyamko has two drumsticks called gajo. To play this traditional musical instrument, you hit gajo on its surface. Tyamko hangs from a strap at the neck or waist and keeps the fast beat in the panche baja. Newar street festivals like Indra Jatra and Bisket Jatra run on Newar drums such as the dhimay and the barrel drum dhaa instead.

 

•  Narshingha

Narshingha is a long, C-shaped horn made of thin copper sheet in sections. The western Nepal type has 5 to 7 sections and can stretch 2 to 3 metres. The Kathmandu Valley type has 4 sections, is about 1.5 m long and sounds higher. It is hollow from the inside and has one narrow end and another broader end, somewhat similar to that of Sahanai. To play this musical instrument, one blows air from the narrow end, and the call carries right across a valley. Narshingha is typically played during festivals and celebrations.

 

7. Damaru

Damaru is a small drum. It has the shape of an hourglass. Damaru has two drumheads, which are made of leather. A thread is tied around it’s waist. Damaru is a traditional musical instrument whose roots go way back in time. It is believed to be played by lord Shiva. To play damaru one holds it by its waist and moves the hand sideways or rotates. In doing so, two ends of the thread hit two surfaces ( drumhead ) of the Damaru that produces the musical sound.

 

8. Murchunga

Murchunga is a jaw harp: a small metal frame with a thin, springy tongue in the middle. Jaw harps are played all over the world, from Siberia to Austria, so no one can say which country had them first. In Nepal the murchunga can be found made with different substances like iron, brass and bronze. Murchunga comes in different shapes and typically it is a handful in size. The most common shape of the Murchunga is similar to that of the lyre. Kirati communities of eastern Nepal have played the murchunga for generations. Playing this traditional musical instrument requires special skills and lots of practice. To hear it being played really well, you will have to listen to elder Kirati musicians. Rai and Limbu players also make a bamboo jaw harp called the binayo.

 

Murchunga has a tongue that is made with steel or iron. To play it properly you press the frame against your parted front teeth and flick the tongue with your forefinger. Your mouth is the sound box, so changing its shape changes the note. Kirati people play the murchunga while performing their cultural/traditional rituals and some festivals.

 

 

9. Dhimay

Dhimay is the big two-headed drum of the Newar Jyapu, the farming families of the Kathmandu Valley. One head is struck with a stick and the other, which carries tuning paste, is slapped by hand. Groups of dhimay players march with cymbals during Indra Jatra, Bisket Jatra and many smaller jatras. If you hear drums rolling through Kathmandu Durbar Square or the lanes of Bhaktapur, this is almost always the dhimay.

 

10. Damphu

Damphu is a round frame drum, a little like a large tambourine without the jingles. A goatskin is stretched over one side of a wooden ring, held by 32 bamboo pegs. It belongs to the Tamang, whose selo songs move to its beat, and some damphu are carved with a danphe, the Himalayan monal. A smaller relative, the khaijadi, is used for hymns by Brahmin, Chhetri, Magar and Gurung communities in western Nepal.

 

Nepal's Traditional Instruments at a Glance

The 16 Instruments in This Guide by Family

Drums dominate Nepali folk music. Eight of the sixteen instruments named in this guide, counting the khaijadi and binayo, are drums of some kind.

Where to Hear Traditional Music in Nepal

Festivals are the surest bet. Indra Jatra in September fills Kathmandu Durbar Square with dhimay drummers and masked dancers. During Tihar in late October or November, groups of young people go house to house singing deusi and bhailo to a madal. Bhaktapur's Bisket Jatra at Nepali New Year in April is loud with Newar drums for nine days.

Weddings are the other big chance. The busiest wedding months fall in winter and spring, and a panche baja band leading a janti procession down a hill road is hard to miss. In Pokhara, ask about Gandharva sarangi players around Batulechaur. In Kathmandu, several Thamel and Durbar Marg restaurants put on cultural dinner shows with live folk music.

For a closer look at the instruments themselves, Ram Prasad Kadel's Music Museum of Nepal holds well over a thousand folk instruments. It was based in the grounds of Tripureshwor Mahadev temple but lost a court case over the site in 2019, so check where and whether it is open before you go.

Swotah's 12-day Best of Nepal Tour, from USD 1,010 per person (group departure), covers Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Patan and Pokhara, the places where this music is easiest to find. If you want your dates to match a festival such as Indra Jatra or Tihar, Swotah can arrange it as a private trip.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the national musical instrument of Nepal?

Nepal has no official national instrument. The madal is the one most Nepalis would name, because it turns up at almost every folk song, dance and Tihar celebration.

What is panche baja?

Panche baja, "five instruments", is the traditional wedding band of the Damai community. The core set is the damaha and tyamko kettle drums, jhyamta cymbals, the sahanai and the narsingha horn. Many bands add a dholaki drum or karnal horn.

Who plays the sarangi in Nepal?

Traditionally the Gandharva, or Gaine, a community of travelling musicians who sang news and stories from village to village. Anyone can play it now, but Gandharva families around Pokhara and Kathmandu still keep the tradition alive.

Can I buy a traditional instrument in Nepal?

Yes. Music shops in Thamel and Bhaktapur sell madal, sarangi, bansuri and singing bowls. A small madal or bansuri packs easily. Check that a sarangi or tungna is solid wood with no cracks, and keep the receipt.

When is the best time to hear Nepali folk music?

From September to November. Indra Jatra, Dashain and Tihar all fall in these months, the weather is good, and the winter wedding season starts soon after. For dates, see our guide to the six most popular festivals in Nepal.

Final Thoughts on Nepal's Traditional Instruments

There are many other traditional musical instruments that originated from Nepal, like Sankha, Dhaa, Khaijadi, Ek Tare, Kangling, Binayo, Dafali, etc. All these musical instruments have their own origin. Different communities of people based on caste, religion, and ethnicity have their traditional musical instruments that reflect their history with the unique significance of each.

The best places to hear these instruments live are Nepal’s festivals: panche baja leads wedding processions across the hills, the dhimay and other drums thunder through Newar street festivals like Indra Jatra, and the sarangi still accompanies wandering Gandharva singers in Pokhara and Kathmandu. Time your visit with one of the six most popular festivals in Nepal and you will hear half this list in a single afternoon.